The Korean men’s basketball team is set to hold two warm-up matches against Japan at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, on the 5th and 7th. In preparation for this, Yang Jae-min also rejoined the national team after a year, while he was called up on the 29th of last month. He is preparing for a Korea-Japan match with his teammates by sweating beads at the auxiliary gym of Sono Arena in Goyang.
Yang Jae-min, who met after training on Wednesday afternoon, said, “It is fun to prepare while training with players of similar age. It is regrettable that the convocation period is short. I do not feel pressured, but I am preparing for the match against Korea and Japan with a positive mindset.” 동행복권파워볼
Yang Jae-min joined the men’s basketball team last summer at the invitation of Chu Il-seung. However, he did not receive much time to play in the warm-up match against Japan and was eliminated from the final entry for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. This will be a great motivation for Yang.
In response, Yang Jae-min said, “It gives me great motivation. Living alone in a foreign country and then training and living with other players of my age in Korea itself seems to give me great energy. It reminds me of my childhood a lot. It is definitely coming as a positive influence. I will do my best as I have a good opportunity.”
To Yang Jae-min, Japan is a familiar opponent. Having played in the B.L. since 2020, he has had several showdowns with Japanese national team players, including Yuki Kawamura (Yokohama) and Yudai Baba (Nagasaki). He used to play with Makoto Hiejima (Utsunomiya) and Josh Hawkinson (Shibuya).
“Japan, which is preparing for the Paris Olympics, showed its best performance in this warm-up match. Hiejima, Kawamura, and Hawkinson, all of whom I played in the B.League, are included. Just by looking at their namesake bellows, they are truly outstanding. I think it’s a good opportunity to play against the best member,” Yang said.
“In Japan, the time that the members of the national team have been working together is really long. Therefore, I think there will be a lot of tactical responses. We can be pushed back in the height fight, but overall, we are not short in height. If we take the rebound fight equally and release the attack with a fastball, we have a good chance of winning. I think we should make good use of our fastballs rather than set offensives because we have less time to train,” he added.
In the upcoming match between Korea and Japan, Yang Jae-min is expected to be appointed as a main member along with Byun Joon-hyung (Sangmu), Lee Jung-hyun (Sono), and Ha Yoon-ki (KT). This is an opportunity for young players to gain experience as Japan’s best members. As Yang plays in the B. League, Japanese fans are also expected to pay attention to his performance.
Yang Jae-min said, “I look forward to it, but I also feel pressure. Of course, I will do my best to win and put everything into it. As it is an exhibition game, I hope it will be a time to learn and experience at least one thing. Personally, I know many players in the Japanese national team, so I will make good use of them to help our country perform well.”
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